Dave Snowden

FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT DAVE SNOWDEN

Deepa Bharath The budding Homeland Security Department, a massive central agency to counter terrorism, would likely keep local public safety agencies better informed than ever, local officials said Wednesday. Newport-Mesa officials are not yet sure how the new agency will affect their respective departments, but said they're sure it'll help keep them up to speed on the latest news from around the world, as well as trouble brewing in local communities.

Deepa Bharath The city saw crimes in most categories plummet during the first half of the year, a state attorney general's report released Thursday showed. Costa Mesa saw several crimes, particularly robberies, assaults, burglaries and auto thefts, increase in 2000 and 2001. But all of those categories showed a significant decline in the first six months of 2002 compared to the same period last year, the report said. The total number of crimes was up 0.9%, however.

Deepa Bharath COSTA MESA -- Auto thefts have been a significant problem in the city for at least three years. It was so much of an issue in 2000 that the Police Department joined a countywide task force to battle the challenge. Among those who knew the problem existed: Councilman Gary Monahan. But it wasn't until a month ago that he experienced it firsthand. Monahan's 1984 GMC pickup truck was stolen in the wee hours of April 18. It was parked outside his pub on Newport Boulevard.

Deepa Bharath NEWPORT-MESA -- Police say they do not believe razor blade discoveries in South County parks are linked to similar incidents that shocked this community last spring, but they aren't entirely ruling out the possibility. Between March 23 and May 30, 2001, 13 incidents were reported in Costa Mesa and Newport Beach parks and playgrounds. In most cases, razor blades and sharp glass pieces were either planted on playground equipment or buried in the sand.

S.J. Cahn COSTA MESA -- It was family day at the 39th annual Public Safety Awards Luncheon. Throughout the event, which honored Costa Mesa's top police and firefighters, the word "family," the theme "family," appeared again and again. It was the common thread that all the winners said helped drive them to success, Fire Chief Jim Ellis noted. "Family. Family was the most important," he said. Ellis and his fellow department head, Police Chief Dave Snowden, presented the awards in tandem, to showcase the tightknit nature of the police and fire departments.

FIZZLING SPARKS "Anyone who has ever seen the peninsula on the Fourth would understand." -- Steve Bromberg, Newport Beach city councilman, on why the Police Department did not support the idea of having the city put on a fireworks show from a rented barge. Police said the show would be more than Balboa Peninsula could take. INTO THE MECHANICS "He's learning, and it's not an easy thing. It's not an easy trade at all. It takes longer to be a good mechanic than a doctor."

Costa Mesa again ranked 30th on the FBI's list of California's safest cities with a population greater than 100,000. While it would disturb us more if Costa Mesa failed to make the list altogether, we can't help but notice that all other large Orange County cities placed higher on the list. That leaves Costa Mesa behind such cities as Anaheim, Garden Grove and Santa Ana. It's obviously prestigious to make the list of the 30 safest cities in a state as large as California and for that we think Costa Mesa's Police Department, under the leadership of Chief Dave Snowden, should be proud.

If there needed to be yet another sign that this fall's Costa Mesa City Council election is going to be pivotal, the formation of a political action committee in town certainly qualifies as that sign. The group Return to Reason, which lists several dozen prominent Costa Mesa leaders ? perhaps most notably former Mayor Joe Erickson ? among its initial supporters, has a mission statement that reads: "To establish leadership based on competence not conflict, for a vibrant and harmonious Costa Mesa.

Lolita Harper COSTA MESA -- It was a rare sight. Mercedes, sport-utility vehicles and other luxury cars lined Shalimar Street on Tuesday as members of the business community hosted a food drive in one of the city's most impoverished areas. Members of the Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce hosted the Thanksgiving for Costa Mesa Food Drive at the Shalimar Learning Center for the third year in a row. The event was organized by CM900, a division of the chamber dedicated to community service.